Chapter 18.45
DESIGN REVIEW Amended Ord. 1866
Sections:
18.45.010 Where applies. Amended Ord. 1866
18.45.005 Purpose.
Design review is a ministerial process that is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. The purpose of design review is to ensure that a project meets the applicable objective standards while at the same time encouraging affordable housing. (Ord. 1848 § 35, 2023; Ord. 1847 § 35, 2023)
18.45.010 Where applies. Amended Ord. 1866
Design review applies to:
A. All two-family dwellings;
B. Any new housing project of two or more units, including a residential mixed use housing project as defined in Chapter 18.04, or transitional or supportive housing where either twenty percent of the total units are sold or rented to lower income households or one hundred percent are sold or rented to persons and families of moderate income or middle income as those terms are further defined in Government Code Section 65915. For purposes of determining the twenty percent, the calculation is based on the number of units prior to the award of any density bonus units that may be requested. (Ord. 1848 § 35, 2023; Ord. 1847 § 35, 2023)
18.45.020 Review.
A. Whenever design review is required and prior to issuance of a building permit, a project’s design shall be approved pursuant to the following criteria:
1. The provisions of this chapter; and
2. All applicable and objective standards contained in Chapter 18.42; and
3. All applicable and objective development standards in the zone in which the development occurs.
B. Any modifications to the design aspects made after planning commission approval shall be grounds for a building permit plan check to be denied. This may be remedied in one of the following ways:
1. The plans may be revised to conform to the design review approval; or
2. A design review modification may be approved by the planning commission pursuant to Section 18.45.030(G);
C. If a development project involves discretionary permits as well as design review, the design review hearing shall be concurrent with said discretionary permits. (Ord. 1848 § 35, 2023; Ord. 1847 § 35, 2023)
18.45.030 Procedure.
The procedure for design review shall be as follows:
A. Filing of Applications. An application for design review shall be filed by the property owner, the property owner’s representative, or other person having the right to the possession of the land for which design approval is sought. Such application shall be filed with the community development department on forms provided by the department. As a part of the application, the applicant shall submit copies of the site plan, all building elevations drawn to scale, and either color renderings or specifications of exterior colors and materials that will be used. A color and materials board that displays exact colors to be used as well as samples of exterior finishes must also be submitted.
B. Filing Fees. The applicant shall pay to the city a filing fee established by city council resolution for the purpose of defraying the costs incurred by the city in processing the design review application.
C. Review.
1. An application shall be reviewed for completeness.
2. Staff shall provide a review for consistency within the time frames provided for by state law. If an application is determined not to be consistent, the city shall notify the applicant in writing, identifying the provisions for which the application is nonconforming along with an explanation of the reasons it considers the project to be inconsistent or not in compliance with the objective provisions.
D. The director shall approve all designs that meet the applicable objective development standards of the applicable zone and Chapter 18.42 for the single-family residential and low-density multi-residential zones.
E. The planning commission shall hold a noticed public hearing and approve designs that meet the applicable objective development standards of the applicable zone and Chapter 18.42 for all other projects subject to this chapter.
1. Notice of hearings shall be given in accordance with Government Code Section 65091.
2. Notice shall be mailed to property owners and occupants within three hundred feet of the project site.
F. The decision of the planning commission shall be rendered in writing. Decisions shall be final unless appealed or called for review.
G. Any modification to an approved design review must be approved by the planning commission in the same manner as a new design review application. However, only the changes from the previously approved design review will be considered at a modification hearing.
1. In the event that any modifications are found by the planning commission to not be compliant with the objective standards, the original approval will remain in force for those modifications;
2. In such case, applicants shall be provided the opportunity to revise all modifications to make them compliant with objective standards and the hearing shall be continued until this is achieved or the modification application is withdrawn;
3. When a modification application is continued and no revisions are submitted to the community development department for ninety days, the modification application shall be deemed by the planning commission at the next regularly scheduled meeting to be abandoned;
a. An abandoned application shall be considered equivalent to a withdrawn application and no further continuances of the hearing are required;
b. The applicant shall be notified in writing not less than fifteen days prior to the ninety-day expiration of a modification application;
c. Any subsequent modifications after a modification application is deemed abandoned shall be a new modification application;
4. After modifications are approved, any further modification requests shall be considered a new modification application.
5. Notwithstanding the above, the director may approve a change of color to another approved color. (Ord. 1848 § 35, 2023; Ord. 1847 § 35, 2023)
18.45.050 Appeals.
Any aggrieved person may appeal the decision of the commission to the city council. Such appeal shall be filed in writing with the city clerk within ten days after the date of the decision by the commission. Upon the receipt of such an appeal and the payment of filing fees established by the city council, the city clerk shall place the matter for consideration on the city council’s agenda of the first regular meeting of the city council following ten days’ written notice to the appellant and/or applicant and property owners and residents within three hundred feet of the boundaries of the project site. The city council shall approve the design review if it finds that the project meets the objective standards. (Ord. 1848 § 35, 2023; Ord. 1847 § 35, 2023)